Increasing sales team efficiency in the chemical industry

This case study explores the strategies adopted by a global specialty chemicals company to address the operational challenges faced by its sales teams.

By implementing a series of solutions focused on team restructuring, refining sales approaches, and leveraging new technologies, the company achieved significant improvements in sales performance, customer visits, and average sales value.

Global leader in the chemical industry

The company in question is a global benchmark in the specialty chemicals sector, widely recognized for developing and producing products and systems used for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting structures. With a strong position in the construction sector, the company stands out for its capacity for innovation, technical excellence, and brand reputation.

Operating in approximately 100 countries, it manages over 300 production units and employs more than 33,000 people worldwide.

The challenge to face

The company was facing challenges related to the productivity and efficiency of its sales team. Aiming to improve these areas, the company sought to implement effective solutions, with the main issues to be addressed being the following:

1. Increasing productivity: How could sales teams become more efficient and spend more time adding value for customers?

Figure 1 – Pie chart showing the percentage of time spent on each task

2. Target customer selection: Were teams focusing their time on the right customers?

3. Sales approach: Was the company fully maximizing the potential of its customers?

With these questions in mind, the company focused on implementing solutions to improve the effectiveness of its sales force and, ultimately, drive better commercial results.

Implemented solutions to address the challenges

To tackle the previously identified challenges, the company implemented several strategic solutions:

1. Team restructuring

The sales teams were reorganized based on sector specialization, aiming to optimize customer service and maximize cross-selling opportunities.

2. Establishing standards for customer visits

Clear standards were defined for customer visits, focusing on preparation, scheduling, and recording the outcomes of each interaction with the clients.

Figure 2 – Example of a visit scheduling template

3. Planning guides

Planning guidelines were developed to help sales teams maximize the time spent on value-adding tasks.

4. Customer portal

The implementation of an optimized customer portal was key to promoting the sending of orders and improving the use of the platform, encouraging customers to use it.

Figure 3 – Example of the customer portal

5. Call center

The customer service center was reinforced to reduce the volume of simple requests previously handled by sales representatives. This improvement was supported by an in-depth analysis of all customer touchpoints, identifying opportunities to streamline communication and make customer service more efficient. In addition, call center employees received additional training, enabling them to resolve basic issues independently, allowing sales representatives to focus on higher value-added activities and improving customer relations.

6. Sales kit

A sales kit was developed to improve the effectiveness of product presentations, ensuring a more consistent and efficient communication.

Figure 4 – Example of the sales kit

7. Analysis and identification of target customers

A detailed analysis of the target customers was carried out to verify whether the right profiles were actually being approached. The assessment included classifying customers based on their sales volume over the last two years: customers with sales of more than €50,000; customers with sales under €50,000; and customers with no sales in the last year. This analysis made it possible to redefine commercial priorities and direct the sales teams’ efforts towards the opportunities with the greatest growth potential.

8. Analysis of sales representative profiles

An assessment of sales representatives was carried out based on 42 characteristics, classifying them into five distinct profiles, with their respective percentages in the team:

• Hard worker – Always willing to go above and beyond, a persistent, motivated individual who is open to feedback and committed to their own development.
• The challenger – Has a deep understanding of the customer’s business, strong argumentation and persuasion skills, and proposes innovative solutions, constructively challenging the client.
• Relationship builder – Builds strong client relationships, always helpful and available, and is a person capable of connecting with people from different profiles and contexts.
• Lone wolf – Follows their instincts, is highly confident, difficult to control, and sets their own rules.
• Problem solver – Responds consistently when approached, ensures that all problems are solved, and is very attentive to detail.

Figure 5 – Graph showing sales representative profiles

This analysis revealed that, as sales become more complex, success depends less and less on effort or relationship building, and more on the ability to challenge the customer’s thinking, provide valuable insights, and guide decisions, which are typical characteristics of the challenger profile. Thus, complex sales are more related to assertive, insight-based approaches, while simpler sales environments depend mainly on consistency and dedicated effort (hard workers and lone wolves).

This also allowed the company to identify which skills were most appropriate for each type of sale, providing insights to guide team training and development in a more strategic and results-focused manner.

Results achieved reflecting the success of the implemented actions

The implementation of these strategic solutions led to significant improvements in key performance indicators, clearly demonstrating the success of the actions developed by the company:

• Sales increase: Sales team productivity rose by 11%, due to the optimized use of time and strategies focused on the right customers.
• Higher average deal value: A more structured sales approach and sector-specific specialization contributed to a 9% increase in average deal value.
• More customer visits: Team restructuring and the introduction of visit standards led to more effective time usage, resulting in an 8% increase in customer visits.

Through organizational restructuring and implementing new methodologies, the company successfully overcame its challenges and achieved significant results. By enhancing sales team productivity, optimizing target customer selection, and unlocking greater customer potential, the company not only boosted its sales but also strengthened its market position.

This case study demonstrates how effective team and process management can drive significant improvements in both commercial and operational performance.

We are committed to respecting our clients’ confidentiality. While we have altered or omitted their names, the results are genuine.